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Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys
Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys is the fourth studio album released by My Chemical Romance. The album follows the stories of the four members' alter egos, the "Fabulous Killjoys." Danger Days was produced by Rob Cavallo, who also produced The Black Parade and worked with other bands such as Green Day. The album was released on November 19th, 2010 and topped U.S. Billboard Charts for rock and alternative rock albums, while peaking on the U.S. Billboard 200 and UK Album Charts at eight and fourteen respectively. Concept The album's concept is based around the lives of the "Fabulous Killjoys" in the setting of California in the year 2019. The band's alter-egos are four Killjoys: "Party Poison" (Gerard Way) Arkie's Brother, "Jet-Star" (Ray Toro), "Fun Ghoul" (Frank Iero), and "Kobra Kid" (Mikey Way), shown in the videos for "Na Na Na" and "SING". The Killjoys are outlaws who reside in the scorching desert surrounding a place called Battery City, fighting against the evil corporation Better Living Industries (BL/ind.) and its leader Korse (Grant Morrison). . The character aliases are the names of their "designer" guns. Their guide is the pirate radio DJ named Dr. Death Defying who is voiced by Steve Montaño (also known by the stage name "Steve, Righ?" when performing with Mindless Self Indulgence . The two music videos show an unnamed girl played by rising star Grace Jeanette as one of the Killjoys. Na Na Na shows the Killjoys' daily lives until Korse defeats them and captures the girl, and SING shows the four Killjoys' rescue mission to get her back; however, this mission sees the gang wiped out in the process, though the girl is taken in by Dr. Death Defying and their other allies. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYNjlukYyeY A website for Better Living Industries was launched in November 2010, featuring a mission statement, a report from the Zones and a merchandise store. Gerard Way has said the inspiration for the song was a Trans-Am car he'd seen years ago and the visual idea of it driving fast through a desert: this car is the one used in the music videos. Way has also stated "there is no story" in the album itself, with Dr. Death Defying's interludes (via his pirate radio station) "painting a picture of this world," and he feels the songs are quite "direct." In a track titled "Jet-Star and the Kobra Kid/Traffic Report," Dr. Death Defying gives a report on the deaths of Jet Star and the Kobra Kid, and at the end of "Goodnight, Dr. Death," he informs us "the lights are out and the party's over," and as a result he's going to have to "start running" now and his show goes off the air. This is then followed by "The Star-Spangled Banner," the last note being substituted by a burst of static. The lyrics of most songs flag up that the Killjoys are outgunned and doomed, but are taking action despite that ("Save Yourself, I'll Hold Them Back" has the lyrics "who gives a damn if we lose this war", and "I'll tell you all how the story ends, how the good guys die and the bad guys win"); focus is repeatedly placed on standing up and standing together, as well as simply having fun. Several songs also refer to "the lights" going out, implied to be some major, devastating event (Dr. Death Defying calls back to this in his last broadcast). The final track, "Vampire Money", has a bastardized version of the band singing an ode to selling out ("play the game and take the band real far"). This was a reaction to the band being asked to do a song for the film The Twilight Saga: New Moon, part of the Twilight franchise. Gerard Way said that the reason the song was on the album was because "there’s a lot of people chasing that fucking money. sic ‘Twilight?’ A lot of people around us were like, ‘Please, for the love of God, do this fucking sic movie.’ But we’d moved on." Promotion The band posted a teaser trailer for the album on September 18, 2010 via their official YouTube account, entitled "Art Is the Weapon". This was followed by the announcement of tour dates throughout Europe as part of the World Contamination Tour. The album's first single "Na Na Na" premiered on air September 22, 2010 via WRFF in Philadelphia, Zane Lowe's radio show on BBC Radio 1, and KROQ in Los Angeles. It has also been announced that "Na Na Na" will be sung in Simlish in The Sims 3: Late Night, to be released October 26, 2010. "The Only Hope for Me Is You" was released as a single on October 11. The song "Planetary (GO!)" will featured as the lead song in Gran Turismo 5 (except for Japanese version), coming out on PS3 this year and was premiered live on October 23, 2010. The Kids From Yesterday was also premiered live on October 23, 2010. Earlier in October, all four members of the band had a world excusive interview with Kerrang! as a means of explaining Danger Days. "Save Yourself, I'll Hold Them Back" was released as a free download on the band's official website on 5 November 2010. The album premiered on November 16, 2010 on the band's official website, hosted by Dr. Death Defying. Reception The initial impressions posted by music critics were been favourable. Rock Sound received a preview of the album, commenting "the way they've used everything they learned on The Black Parade and tightened up in certain places feels natural and confident" and that it sees "the creativity of the band taking flight musically, graphically and literally." Dan Martin of NME got the chance to preview the album and had equally positive reviews. He stated that "this is the best rock record of the year by such a margin that you actually feel rather embarrassed for everybody else." Alternative Press has reviewed the album, and comments, "It's truly hard to believe this is the same act who exploded onto the scene six years ago with the emo anthem, "I'm Not Okay (I Promise)", as well as stating, "MCR have fully followed their own larger-than-life creative vision", with a rating of four stars. Rock Sound later reviewed the album, saying that "If MCR were your favourite band in the past it might feel like it’s going to take some steady reappraisal before you ink their new logo on your rough book" and that " ‘Danger Days…’ simply sounds like they’re having way more fun than ever" with a rating of eight stars out of ten. Editions In addition to the standard CD edition to be released, the band has also offering the California 2019 Edition exclusively through its official online store. The edition features the standard CD version of the album as well as an exclusive EP, The Mad Gear and Missile Kid, a 48-page book entitled Art Is the Weapon, a wooden bracelet, and one of four polyresin prop ray-guns and a matching mask housed in a white box adorned with a photo sleeve. An iTunes deluxe version is also to be released featuring the song "We Don't Need Another Song About California" and the music video for "Na Na Na". Track listing Charts Personnel ;Band * Fun Ghoul (Frank Iero) – rhythm guitar, backing vocals * Jet-Star (Ray Toro) – lead guitar, backing vocals * Party Poison (Gerard Way) – lead vocals * Kobra Kid (Mikey Way) – bass guitar * My Chemical Romance – producer ;Additional * Rob Cavallo – producer, drums on "The Kids from Yesterday" * Dorian Crozier – drums on "Bulletproof Heart" * NewsAGoGo (Airi Isoda) – vocals on "Party Poison" * John Miceli – drums, percussion (tracks 2, 4-6, 8-12 and 15), additional vocals on "Save Yourself, I'll Hold Them Back" * Dr. Death Defy (Steven Montaño (Steve, Righ?)) – vocals on "Look Alive, Sunshine", "Na Na Na (Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na)," "Jet-Star and the Kobra Kid/Traffic Report", and "Goodnite, Dr. Death" * Jamie Muhoberac – keyboards, sound design * Michael Pedicone – drums on The Mad Gear and Missile Kid EP * Jonathan Rivera – additional vocals on "Save Yourself, I'll Hold Them Back" * Bob Bryar – credited as co-writer on tracks 2, 3, 6, 8, and 9. Former drummer of My Chemical Romance. Notes Category:Albums Category:Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys